Innovation Union

The Innovation Union supports research and innovation in Europe. © Getty

The Innovation Union

The ‘Innovation Union’ is not just about turning good ideas from the labs into new products and services: it is a completely new state of mind. This state of mind is fully turned to the future. It includes boosting great initiatives, helping creative and passionate people to develop their skills and products, providing better education to support a genuine innovation-friendly environment… Through a fully integrated approach and a genuine innovation system that will boost growth, jobs and social development in Europe, the Innovation Union aims to infuse society with the reflex to innovate at every level.

Innovation does not happen by itself, it needs an innovation-friendly environment to flourish. © Corbis Images

innovation union

18 March 2013

Europe's Innovation Union

The ‘Innovation Union’ is one of Europe’s antidotes to the financial crisis. It is a way of creating jobs and growth through research and innovation.

The EU is catching up with the US and Japan on innovation. Credit: EBS

policy | innovation union

08 May 2015

Private sector slowdown to blame for EU innovation stagnation

A decrease in private sector innovation activities means that levels of innovation in the EU did not increase in 2014, according to the EU’s Innovation Union Scoreboard which was published on 7 May.

There could be an effective Ebola vaccine in 2015, said infectious diseases researcher Dr Javier Moreno. Image: Shutterstock/ jaddingt

frontier research | innovation union

05 January 2015

Researchers forecast an Ebola vaccine and low-cost solar cells in 2015

A vaccine against the Ebola virus and new low-cost solar cells that use the principle of artificial photosynthesis are some of the predictions made by researchers in Horizon’s poll of major developments this year.

Over the year, Horizon covered important science and research events in Europe.

policy | innovation union

22 December 2014

A year in EU research, science and innovation

A handful of Nobel Prizes and the first-ever comet landing – 2014 was a good year for European Science.

transport | innovation union

04 June 2014

Virtual reality to ease the pain of long-haul flights

If you are not afraid of heights, this one is for you. With your legs outstretched in front of you, glide around a palm-fringed island on a magic carpet, blissfully unaware of the deprivations of a cramped aircraft cabin. If the thought of flying does not appeal, you can choose a land-based scene, with gentle sounds or music to accompany it on your headset.

The Optician2020 project is working out how to print customised glasses on demand. © Shutterstock/Michaelpuche

health | innovation union

14 April 2014

Made-to-measure glasses could save time and money

Made-to-measure glasses would be more comfortable than normal ones, look better and work more effectively, according to one of a group of research projects that are developing ways to 3D print healthcare products on demand.

Professor Thomas Halfmann and his team of scientists at the University of Darmstadt, Germany, have managed to stop a pulse of light inside a crystal for an entire minute. © Katrin Binner/ TU Darmstadt

ict | innovation union

09 April 2014

Scientists stop light for a minute, breaking records

Scientists at the University of Darmstadt, in Germany, have trapped a pulse of light inside a crystal for a minute, and used it to store an image, raising the possibility of light-based computers that could work faster than today’s electronic processors and transistors.

The COELUX project is using LEDs to simulate natural light. ©Shutterstock/rangizzz

innovation union | industry

03 April 2014

How to fill a windowless room with sunlight

High-tech LED technology and sophisticated optical systems are being used to recreate natural sunlight.

Early detection of a tsunami can greatly reduce loss of life. © Shutterstock: Zacarias Pereira da Mata

environment | innovation union

18 March 2014

Improved tsunami alert system through international partnerships

Tsunamis are not very frequent events, but they can have a terrible impact on human life and on the economy of a country. They occur as a result of earthquakes, usually at the bottom of the sea, but at present such earthquakes cannot be foreseen.

Flexible electronics on foil, manufactured in reel-to-reel process. © Fraunhofer EMFT

ict | innovation union

17 March 2014

Organic circuits - lighter, cheaper and bendier

A new type of plastic electronics made from organic materials is lighter, cheaper, and more flexible than any of today’s technology. Such circuits could be worn on clothing or placed inside medical sensors.